Pokemon: The Ultimate Survival Challenge
by Uchius
Summary: Ash Ketchum, now age eighteen, has been through a lot since finishing his Pokemon journey three years ago and becoming a Pokemon Master. When he has the chance to compete in a team survival challenge with his childhood friends, there is no way he can pass up the offer.
1. Chapter 1

_Ash Ketchum, age eighteen, has been through a lot since finishing his Pokemon journey three years ago and becoming a Pokemon Master. When he has the chance to compete in a team survival challenge with his childhood friends, there is no way he can pass up the offer. What Ash doesn't know is that he will be competing against some of the best Gym Leaders and Elite Four members in the Pokemon world._

Chapter 1

It had been another long day of training for Pokemon Master Ash Ketchum, now age eighteen.

Ash's change in appearance was small. He still wore his red hat with blue jeans, but it was now with a red sweatshirt. He had grown to six feet and his body had gotten noticeably stronger. Training with his Pokemon had increased both his body and his mind. Not only was he one of the toughest trainers in the world, but he was also one of the smartest. The mistakes he made as a pre-teen no longer existed since he had learned more about his Pokemon and their unique skills.

"Man, it isn't easy being the best," he said to himself with a small grin on his face.

"Pika-pi," Pikachu nodded his head in agreement as he hopped onto the teenager's shoulder.

After another day of training at Mt. Silver both Ash and his Pokemon were worn out. It had become a daily routine to head to Mt. Silver ever since Ash had become the ultimate Pokemon Master. At age fifteen he had competed in the Pokemon World Cup and defeated Steven Stone in the final match. The Pokemon World Cup was held once every four years and trainers from all over the world had a chance to participate, given they had at least eight Gym Badges.

Since then he had trained in solitude and rarely made contact with anybody outside of Pallet Town.

"You really looked good today Pikachu," Ash said. "Hopefully mom has cooked us something good for my eighteenth birthday!"

When Ash and Pikachu arrived back in Pallet Town it seemed different, empty.

"I wonder where everybody is," Ash thought out loud. "I guess it's just going to be another boring night," he said, somewhat disappointed.

As Ash headed towards his house he heard a few sounds, but ignored it thinking it was just a group of wild Rattata's who were very common around Pallet Town. As he opened the door to his home he jumped back and heard, "Surprise!"

"What's going on?" Ash asked dumbly as he was approached by his mother, Delia Ketchum, and best friend, Gary Oak.

"Surprise honey," his mother said with an air of excitement around her voice. "Since you have been working so hard lately I thought it would be a good idea to throw a party for you!"

"Yea Ashy-Boy," said Gary, "and we got almost everybody to come."

It was true, as Ash looked around he saw almost everybody he had come in contact with on his Journey. Misty, Brock, Max, Tracey, Dawn, Cilan, and Iris were among the first he saw. Also scattered among the crowd were various Gym Leaders and Elite four members. There was only one person missing…

"Heyyy," he heard someone behind him. "I knew it; I knew I would be late." May Maple had arrived and Ash was more than happy to see her.

"May!" He said with a huge smile on his face. "I knew you would be here!"

"I couldn't miss my best friends eighteenth birthday," said May as she ran over to hug him.

"Alright well let me see everybody else and then we can catch up," said Ash, more excited than he had been in months.

"Sounds good," she replied, letting go of him and reaching out to pet Pikachu. "It's been way to long."

Wow thought Ash; I guess this night isn't going to be so boring after all.

"Hey Ash, longtime no see," said Brock as he approached him.

"Brock! How are things going in Pewter city?" Ash asked inquisitively.

"Same old, same old," said Brock. "Ever since Forest took over as Gym Leader I have had a lot more time to focus on becoming a Breeder. What's up with you?"

"Nothing new really. I've just been training a lot and trying to remain the strongest trainer in the world," he said with a smug look on his face.

"Well you wouldn't have made it there if it wasn't for us," he heard somebody say behind him.

As he turned he saw Misty and Dawn approaching him. While it was true that Misty and Dawn had helped him mightily on his journey, Ash liked to think that he did it all on his own.

"Remember when you couldn't even beat a Spearow?" said Misty with a smirk. "Now Pikachu could probably take out fifty Spearows."

"Well, it's good to see you too Misty," Ash laughed. "And you too Dawn." While he didn't like to admit it, Ash had the biggest crush on Dawn while he traveled the Sinnoh region with her. Even looking at her now he remembered why he had such a crush on her. Dawn was almost flawless.

"So Ash, how are things going?" Dawn asked.

Ash thought for a second about how he would have to answer this question all night, and then replied, "Things are going great. I've become a lot stronger and I can't wait until the next Pokemon World Cup." It was true, Ash couldn't wait to defend his title, but that wasn't for another whole year.

"Well you don't need to train all alone," said Dawn. "You should at least call one of us once in a while."

"Sorry about that," said Ash feeling a bit guilty. "I'll try to get in contact with you guys a little more often."

"Well, I think we are going to see each other more than that," said Dawn slyly. And just like that both Dawn and Misty left Ash standing there feeling a little more confused than before.

"Ahh women, you never know what they are going to do next," said Brock as he walked off into the crowd.


	2. Chapter 2

"Listen up everybody. I have an announcement to make!" yelled Gary over the noise of the party. When nobody seemed to hear him he stood up on a chair and yelled, "LISTEN UP EVERYBODY!" That seemed to have gotten their attention as the party goers quieted down.

"So as you all know our one and only Pokemon Champion turned eighteen today," said Gary as he looked down at Ash with a smirk on his face. "And to honor this _great champions_ birthday we have a big surprise for him," he said sarcastically.

"That's right," said May as she walked towards Gary. "The big surprise is that we are going to join the Pokemon Survival Challenge!"

"What?!" gasped the crowd. Only the best trainers joined the PSC and even then it was always won by the Champion team consisting of Cynthia, Steven, Lance, and Juan.

"And we are going to allow Ash to join our team," said May giving Ash a look that he just couldn't say no too.

Ash stood there with a look of shock on his face. "You are going to _allow_ me to join your team, or are you going to ask me?" he asked after coming to his senses.

"Well we were just assuming you would come since we are your best friends," said Gary.

It was true he had been through a lot with all of them, especially Gary. After leaving Unova Ash had returned home and trained every day with his childhood rival. Gary was the reason that Ash had his desire to win. If it wasn't for him Ash may have never made it past the Indigo League.

"I guess if you guys want me to go then I'm in," said Ash as everybody at the party started cheering. "How did you guys get an invitation though?" he asked.

"It was easy," said Gary. "I just had Gramps call in and tell them that you were on our team. They couldn't say no to that."

"Of course you told him I was going to join," Ash replied. "You knew you guys would talk me into it."

"And it wasn't even tough to do," said May with a big smile.

"So, who's on the team?" Ash asked.

"Well it's me, you, May, and Dawn," replied Gary, "so we are going to be counting on you to be on top of your game since we are going up against the best in the world. But enjoy the rest your party and get ready for the morning champ. I'll smell ya later." And with that Gary walked out of the house with the cockiness that only he possessed.

The rest of the night went by smoothly as Ash made small talk with his old friends as well as the numerous Professors. As the clock struck midnight most of the guests started to head out and only Brock, May, Dawn, and Max remained.

"That's so cool that you guys get to compete in the PSC," Max said excitedly. He knew his sister was a strong trainer when it came to contests, but her battling skills were not nearly as strong as the other trainers who would be participating. "Too bad May is going to ruin is for you guys," he said with a laugh.

"Shut up Max." May said. "I'll have Ash there if I end up getting in any trouble, right?" She said as she looked at Ash expectantly.

"Uhh, right," Ash quickly responded as he started to blush.

"Well, I'm jealous of you four," chimed in Brock. "I wish that I had the chance to participate. I miss the days of traveling all over the world with you guys."

"Don't sweat it Brock, me and you can make our own team and beat them when I'm old enough." Max said.

"Pika-pika," was heard as Pikachu jumped onto Ash's shoulder.

"What's that buddy?" Ash asked. "I guess it is getting kind of late. You're not used to these late nights, huh buddy."

"Pikachu!" And with that he hopped off his trainers shoulder and ran to Ash's room looking forward to a long night's sleep.

"Do you guys have any plans for tomorrow?" asked Ash.

"Umm, yea. We are heading to the PSC." Dawn said, giggling.

"Wait. What?! That's tomorrow?!" Ash almost yelled. He didn't really keep up with current events when on Mt. Silver and had no idea when the event actually was.

"Yup be ready by 9:00 and we will meet you here!" said May.

"Where are you guys staying?" asked Ash. He wanted to tell them they could stay at his house, but there were only two rooms…

"We are at the Pokemon center in Viridian. It's only like a ten minute walk so it's the perfect distance." said May.

"Alright, I'll see you guys in the morning." Said Ash

"Good luck Ash." Both Brock and Max said. "And good luck to you girls as well," said Brock. We will be watching you guys on TV!" And with that they went on their way.

Ash headed up to his room thinking about what he would need to prepare. He would be allowed three Pokemon and whatever else he could fit in his backpack. He grabbed a couple hyper potions, full heals, and revives. He also grabbed a few berries since he knew how much his Pokemon enjoyed them. After getting all of the medicine he needed Ash crammed a sleeping bag into his backpack and finished up packing. "Well that was quick," he thought.

After spending years on Mt. Silver, the champion didn't need much to survive. He did what he could with his surroundings. He made fires with his Pokemon, found water in streams, and had built many shelters for himself with the help of his Pokemon. He considered himself to be the best, just like everything else he did.

With his packing done and the thought of winning the PSC Ash fell asleep unaware of the surprises awaited for him the following day, both good and bad.


	3. Chapter 3

Ash awoke the next morning to a loud banging on the room of his door. He rolled over and yelled, "Calm down, I'm awake." As the banging continued he grew more irritated and shouted, "I'M AWAKE!" The yelling woke up Pikachu who was sleeping at the foot of his bed and Ash received a nice shock from his best friend.

"Thanks buddy I needed that," said Ash sarcastically as Pikachu laughed and ran towards the door.

Dragging himself out of bed Ash threw on an old t-shirt and a pair of shorts as he headed towards the door.

"Don't you know the challenge starts today?" Gary almost yelled at him. "We need to be there in an hour."

"I guess I just overslept," Ash said as he punched Gary on the shoulder. While Gary didn't like to admit it, Ash had gotten substantially bigger than him since Ash had been training alone. Gary was usually in his lab all day and Ash was outdoors training. It was no surprise Ash had surpassed Gary physically.

Gary shoved Ash back and said, "Well you can't forget things when we are in the challenge. You've got to be at the top of your game if we want to win this thing."

"There's nothing to worry about, I've beaten all of these trainers before and honestly I can't see myself losing. It's not like there's somebody out there who can beat us. You guys aren't anything so scoff at. I've seen all of our opponents' battle many times. We will be fine." said Ash. But in the back of his mind he knew there was one trainer out there who could give him problems.

"What about Red?" Gary asked.

"Nobody has heard from him in years. Mom and I haven't heard from him since I first left on my journey." Ash's face showed sadness as he thought about what happened to his older brother. "I wish I could talk to him or at least see what he's doing. He's the reason I train so hard. I wanted to be as strong as him."

"Well you are. Probably even stronger," said Gary. "Cheer up we get to be on the biggest Pokemon show in the world and be on TV! Plus, May and Dawn will be there, if you know what I mean." He said with slyly.

"Nice job trying to change the topic, but I know you wonder about what happened to Blue just like I do with Red."

"Yea I do, but I'm not going to let the thought of our older brother ruin things for us. Obviously if they wanted to see us they would have come back, but they didn't and I have moved on." Gary responded.

How he could think like that, Ash had no idea. "They will be back, I'm sure of it," he said, "and when they come back I'm going to beat both of them."

"Why not make it a double battle, I want in." Gary said. He couldn't let his best friend down, even if he didn't believe their brothers would return. 'We really need to get going, though. We can't be late for this. The girls are going to meet us in front of Gramp's lab."

"Alright, let's go win the Pokemon Survival Challenge!" Ash said as he hugged his mom good bye. "Don't forget to watch us on TV mom; you can see your favorite little guy winning yet another event."

"I'm looking forward to seeing Pikachu winning again," she said as she pet Pikachu and winked at Ash.

And with that Ash and Gary made their way to Professor Oak's lab, the place where they both began their Pokemon journeys.

"Finally you guys made it!" Dawn said with a look of anxiety on her face. "I thought we were going to miss the plane."

"I tried explaining to her that they couldn't start without us, but she wouldn't listen," said May with a laugh.

"Well, we're here now so let's head out. The Plane said it would pick us up at the furthest point south of Pallet so it should be here soon." Said Gary

After about fifteen minutes the plane arrived and the four trainers made their way to their seats.

"How cool!" said May "We have our own private Jet!"

"This is your captain speaking," they heard throughout the plane, "welcome to the PSC. This plane will be taking you to an undisclosed location where the challenge will be taking place. In order to ensure the location is not revealed all the windows have been blocked. Please do not attempt to open them. Thank you for flying and we should reach our location in roughly one hour."

The group sat in silence as they all silently wondered where it could be taking place.

"It couldn't be up at Mt. Silver, that's too obvious," though Ash.

"Maybe it's around Cinnabar Island. There are plenty of small islands there." Gary wondered.

"The North of Mosdeep is a pretty unique spot, it could be there," thought May.

"It's definitely at Mt. Coronet." May smiled as she thought she already knew the answer.

"Do any of you guys know the other teams," asked Ash.

Both May and Dawn shook their heads, but Gary seemed to know something.

"Gramps got me some inside information," he said looking proud of himself. "The Champion team is going to be competing again. So that's Cynthia, Lance, Stevan, and Juan."

"That's some tough competition," said Dawn. "It's tough enough to beat one Champion, let alone four."

"Aren't you forgetting something, "May chimed in, "We have Ash." He's beaten all of them before and he is gonna do it again."

"I'll see what I can do," said Ash with a laugh.

The remainder of the flight was spent in silence as they all anticipated the great challenge that awaited them. Finally, the plane started descending and eventually reached a stop.

As the doors opened they heard in a booming voice, "Welcome to the Pokemon Survival Challenge!"


End file.
